U 



THE APES AND MONKEYS. 



it to allay his thirst. His home is in the air, where 

 he enjoys peace and security, easily escapes every 

 enemy and, of a verity, lives and luxuriates in the 

 enjoyment of motion. 



The Natural Study of these animals in the wild state 

 Traits is extremely difficult, as they are very 



of Gibbons. s hy and seldom leave the depths of 

 their native forests. Only a good telescope — an in- 

 strument indispensable to the observer of all of the 

 more timid ani- 

 mals-enables one 

 to see a little of 

 their life. In this 

 way it has been 

 discovered that 

 the mothers carry 

 their little ones to 

 the river, where, 

 in spite of great 

 screaming, they 

 proceed to wash 

 and afterwards 

 dry them, taking 

 as much pains in 

 the whole process 

 as we might de- 

 sire to be lavished 

 on some human 

 children. 



At sunrise and 

 sunset they usual- 

 ly join their loud 

 voices in such a 

 concert as to 

 deafen a near- 

 by observer, and 

 frighten any one 

 not used to this 

 curious music. 

 They are the 

 alarm clocks of 

 the Malay moun- 

 taineers, and the 

 greatest annoy- 

 ance of the town 

 inhabitants, 

 whose suburban 

 summer life they 

 manage to spoil. 

 a mile away 



URSINE COLOBUS AND BLACK COLOBUS. These monkeys are found in the deep woods 



of Africa. The Bear-like appearance gave to the Ursine Colobus its name. The cheek bones and 

 chin are covered with long, white hair which stands outward or downward as shown in the picture. 

 It is very timid and flees at the approach of Man. The Black Colobus, like the Ursine, has stunted 

 thumbs and the fur is thick, long and black. (See chapter on " Dog-shaped Monkeys.") 



It is said that their cries are heard 

 Captive Long-armed Apes both with 

 and without the cheek-pouches have been heard to 

 utter very loud shrieks. 



Bennett, a careful observer, had a living Siamang 

 in his possession, and noticed that when he was 

 excited he projected his lips like a funnel, inflated 

 his pouches and made a sound resembling the gobble 



of a Turkey. He made cries denoting joy as well 

 as anger. The female Ungko in London sometimes 

 cried in a peculiarly harmonious manner. She began 

 with E, ascending and descending a full octave in 

 chromatics. In ascending the notes became slower 

 and slower ; in descending they followed in quick 

 succession, the finale being a piercing yell. The 

 regularity, assurance and rapidity of this perform- 

 ance invariably excited the enthusiastic admiration 



of the audience. 

 Opinions of ob- 

 servers as to the 

 intellectual quali- 

 ties of the Long- 

 armed Apes are 

 divided Duvau- 

 cel calls the 

 Siamang slow, 

 stupid, awkward, 

 lazy, cowardly 

 and uninteresting, 

 indifferent toward 

 his keepers, and 

 incapable of af- 

 fection as well as 

 revenge. Forbes, 

 on the contrary, 

 praises his tame- 

 ness and familiar- 

 ity: "The pretty, 

 caressing way he 

 had of encircling 

 my neck with his 

 long arms and 

 leaning his head 

 on my breast, 

 emitting a satis- 

 fied little grunt, 

 was very prepos- 

 sessing." Ben- 

 nett also judges 

 him in a more 

 favorable light. 

 He brought a 

 Siamang nearly 

 as far as Europe 

 and says that in 

 a short time he 

 of all his fellow- 

 reached England 

 crew. Gibbons 

 in their native 



made his way into the affections 

 travelers. He died before they 

 and was mourned by the entire 

 are rarely seen in captivity, even 



country. They cannot bear the loss of freedom, 

 and when deprived of it they constantly long for 

 their native forests and their plays and become more 

 and more quiet and sad, until finally they die. 



